Matt Gaetz has killed off growing speculation he may be headed back to Congress in January.
The scandal-scarred ex-lawmaker, who pulled out of the running to be Donald Trump’s attorney general on Thursday, told the conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on Friday that he does “not intend to join the 119th Congress.”
Gaetz, 42, said he’s instead eyeing a “new perch” that will enable him to still “be in the fight,” adding that he plans “to be a big voice but not as an elected member of the government.”
Shortly after his sit-down with Kirk, Gaetz offered a veiled threat to his old colleagues in a post to X, claiming he would soon expose their supposed insider trading secrets.
“Stock trading is such a huge part of Congress,” he said. “It shouldn’t be. I can’t wait to tell all these stories of corruption, treason and betrayal. Coming soon.”
It’s unclear what new position Gaetz—who has denied recent accusations he paid for sex with a 17-year-old girl—is eyeing. However, his comment tampers rumors that he might return to Congress a representative in his old northwest Florida seat—which he won re-election to earlier this month—or as a senator to replace Marco Rubio, who was appointed to be Trump’s secretary of state.
That second scenario would require Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint Gaetz to the role—something many politicos said was likely a long shot, especially with so many in the MAGA world pushing for Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, to be handed the position.
In his withdrawal announcement Thursday, Gaetz said he was doing so because he’d “unfairly” become a distraction for Trump’s transition team. He said he hoped his exit would stop a “needlessly protracted Washington scuffle” from taking place.
The announcement came just as CNN reported that his teenage accuser had testified to the House Ethics Committee about a previously unknown, second sexual encounter she alleged to have had with Gaetz and another woman.
Some Republicans publicly shared their relief that Gaetz threw in the towel. That included the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who called the news a “good thing” and added, “I think that was appropriate.”
Gaetz and the president-elect’s proxies personally traveled to Capitol Hill to rally votes on Wednesday for the ex-lawmaker, who had resigned from Congress just days before an ethics committee’s report was set to be released about him.
However, not even the backing of Trump and MAGA’s biggest names—Elon Musk, JD Vance, and more—was enough to get Gaetz over the hump, even with a +3 Republican majority in the Senate looming.
“He was going to be the worst confirmation by far, and I don’t think the votes were there,” a source in Trump’s orbit told The Washington Post.
Gaetz told Kirk he wouldn’t return to Congress in part because he wants to enjoy life outside public office for the first time since he was 26—the age he was when he was first elected to the Florida House of Representatives.
“I’ve got some other goals in life that I’m eager to pursue with my wife and my family,” he said.
